Dueling Legends
by Astra Ashes
Summary: Some legends come and go, and other last. Students at Duel Academy dream of becoming dueling legends themselves while others are already living in the shadows of legends.
1. Chapter 1

**Ah, and here is the rewriting of one of the first stories I posted here on FF oh so long ago. Gods that first version was terrible. Hopefully this one is better. Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chancellor Sheppard was busy shuffling through** his papers. While he was doing this, a certain paper caught his eye. The papers showed the scores of the new transfer student. Sheppard did feel a bit bad that while the applicant _did_ score rather well on the entrance exams (about the average scores of the Ra Yellow students), due to some complications the applicant could only enter into the Slifer Red dorm. But that was alright, judging from the scores and from the applicants profile, that wouldn't be much of a problem.

Sheppard was sure that the student could ascend through the ranks while they were here. A bit of a shame about their background though. He couldn't help but wonder if this was such a good idea. Judging from what he was reading, maybe Dueling in _general_ wasn't a good idea.

Sheppard shook his head. It wasn't any of his business. It was the applicant's decision.

 _Speaking of which,_ he thought. _They should be arriving sometime today._

Chancellor Sheppard sighed then placed the paper back on the desk. After a few moments of thinking to himself, he went back to going through the papers.

Then, after signing a few papers, giving some signs of approval and some of disapproval, there was a knocking on his door. Chancellor Sheppard looked up.

"Come in," he said.

The door opened and Lioside walked in.

"Pardon the distraction Chancellor Sheppard," he said. "But..."

Lioside, who was still holding the door open, just looked through the doorway. Chancellor Sheppard looked as someone else walked into his office. The twelve-year-old just calmly walked into the office, head hung low with a black baseball cap shadowing their face, then stopped in front of his desk.

"Ah, I'm glad to see you've arrived here safely Kojima," Chancellor Sheppard smiled. "I had only just saw your transfer papers a few moments ago actually."

"Yes, we arrived about ten minutes ago by helicopter," Lioside said walking over.

"Good good. And I see that you've already changed into your uniform. Though it appears to be too big for you, hmm and this is the smallest size we have?"

Lioside nodded. "For now yes. But from what Kojima has told me it's not a problem."

Sheppard looked at said student. Kojima nodded. Of course, he still thought the uniform was too big. Kojima was only wearing a large navy blue shirt, baggy black jeans, sneakers, and the Slifer Red blazer that looked to be three sizes too big compared to the student's small figure, making the blazer just as baggy as the rest of the outfit.

"Well sir, I'll show Kojima to class. I know we still have plenty of time before classes begin but Kojima wants to get there early," Lioside stated.

Kojima nodded in agreement. Chancellor Sheppard nodded back. Lioside nodded then the two left. Once they were gone Sheppard went back to his paperwork.

* * *

Jaden ran through the halls, headed straight to his classroom. For once he was in a rush to get to his class even if he wasn't late. In fact, at this rate he would be _early_ for once since he started attended Duel Academy.

"C'mon Sy! You're not going to win this race at this rate!" he shouted over his shoulder.

Syrus, Jaden's best friend here at Duel Academy, was trying his hardest to keep up. So there was _no way_ Syrus was going to win this race anytime soon. At this rate Jaden would be the winner without a doubt.

Jaden finally opened the door to the classroom then accidentally stumbled inside. Okay, not exactly a graceful entrance but hey, he was still the winner.

"Ha, looks like you lose Sy," Jaden grinned as Syrus entered the classroom, looking worn out and out of breath. "That means you pay for the sandwiches today."

"Yeah yeah," Syrus panted. "I know."

"Man Syrus, we need to work on your athletic skills."

"No need to remind me."

"Look at it this way," Jaden said walking down the aisle towards their seats. "Least you beat Chumley."

"Not much of an accomplishment though," Syrus muttered.

While Syrus followed Jaden down the aisle though, he noticed something.

Syrus poked Jaden in the back.

"What?"

Syrus simply pointed to the front row. Jaden looked to see he was pointing to someone that Jaden didn't recognize.

"New student maybe?" Syrus whispered. Jaden shrugged.

"Let's find out."

Before Syrus could stop him Jaden walked all the way down to the front row and stopped right in front of the student.

"Hey, my name's Jaden Yuki. Haven't seen you before, you a new student?"

At first Jaden didn't get a response. Finally the student looked up at him. For about two split seconds they just looked at him with bright blue eyes that had a bored expression then went back to their book. Jaden could have also sworn that he heard the guy scoff.

 _Gee, that was nice,_ Jaden thought as he walked away,

"So?" Syrus asked once Jaden joined him at their usual seats.

"Kind of a jerk apparently," Jaden muttered.

"Yeah well, maybe the new guy just needs some time," Syrus suggested. "After all, he _is_ a new student."

"If you say so Syrus," Jaden said as students started to file in, and class beginning to start.

Once class was over, Jaden woke up from his annual class time nap. Looking around the classroom he saw that most of the students were all leaving.

"Well that was a great class," Jaden yawned.

"How do you know? You slept through the whole class!" Syrus reminded him.

"Yeah well, you know what I mean."

"Sometimes Jaden, I actually don't," Syrus sighed as the last of the students left the classroom. Well, almost all of them. Syrus looked to see that one other student minus Jaden and him were still in the room. The new transfer student was still sitting there, reading the same book that he had been reading since before class started. Now that Syrus thought about it, hadn't he not even pay attention to class and just continued to read his book?

"Guess the new guy likes to read," Syrus said as he watched the guy leave the classroom, still reading his book. "Hope he doesn't run into anyone."

"Yeah well, forget him. Let's go to the Academy shop and see if they got any sandwiches," Jaden suggested. "I'm hungry and remember, you're buying."

"You know something Jaden," Syrus said as the two left. "You've got an appetite that could rival Chumley's. And _that's_ saying something."

All during the walk to the shop Jaden protested against this.

* * *

Alexis was on her way to the docks since classes for the day were over. She was hoping to get some quiet time to contemplate some things. But when she got there, she saw that someone was already there. Upon closer inspection she noticed it was the new transfer student from class. Alexis remembered that all during class he just kept reading his book and didn't bother to pay attention. Right now he was sitting on the edge of the dock gazing out into the distance.

"Didn't expect to see someone else here," Alexis spoke, walking up to the guy, causing him to look up at her. "It was Kojima right?"

"Yeah. Aren't you the Alexis Rhodes that I've been hearing from some of the students?"

"That would be me. Mind if I join you?"

Kojima shrugged. "Doesn't make a difference to me."

"So what brings you to Duel Academy? I mean, you did transfer in later in the year."

"Got my reasons," Kojima muttered, adjusting the black baseball cap on his head as he did.

"If you say so. It's just a rare thing for Duel Academy to get transfer students. So I was just curious."

"S'okay. Curiosity is natural," he said, looking back out at the ocean. "Kind of can't believe I'm actually here."

"What? Have you tried to enroll in the past?"

"No it's just…I never had a real reason to enroll here until…recently."

Alexis noticed something in Kojima's tone. Like something dark was troubling him that he didn't want to talk about. She could easily recognize it because she had used it sometimes when talking to people. It kind of made her wonder what he didn't want to talk about. Alexis thought it best not to ask.

"So how are you adjusting to Duel Academy?" Alexis asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

"Fine. Classes are kind of dull though," Kojima admitted, leaning up against the lighthouse. "Right now the only thing I'm really learning is how boring things can be when all you hear is things you already know."

Alexis raised an eyebrow. "So you're saying that you already know about advanced Dueling strategies?"

"I'm not saying I know _everything_ about advanced Dueling strategies. Nothing like that. I've probably still got plenty to learn there. I'm just saying that what they were teaching during class I already knew."

"That's still pretty surprising. At least for someone in Slifer Red."

Kojima scowled and rolled his eyes. "Oh that whole color classification system? I don't see how the color you wear determines your skill."

Alexis giggled at that. Kojima looked up at her.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, it's just that you're kind of right. I know a guy who's also in Slifer Red and so far, he's one of most naturally skilled Duelists I know. But I will admit, he _does_ tend to live up to the whole Slifer Slacker name seeing as how he sleeps through classes almost all the time."

"His name Jaden Yuki?"

Alexis nodded. "You met him?"

"Before class started," Kojima said, "when he came up and introduced himself. I wasn't in a very chatty mood so I brushed him off really."

"That must have been real nice," Alexis chuckled. Kojima shrugged.

"Honestly, I'm like that sometimes. Got my good moments and bad moments."

"I think I can tell." Alexis looked at her Duel Pilot to check the time. From the looks of it, they should be heading back to their dorms pretty soon. Kojima must have noticed because he got up.

"It's starting to get late. Better start heading back. Oh yeah, before I go." Kojima turned to Alexis. "You know you don't have to call me by my last name. You can call me Carmine if you want."

Alexis frowned. "Isn't that a Latin name?"

Carmine chuckled. "Yeah, it supposedly means either 'fruit garden' or 'song.'"

"Interesting nickname."

Carmine shrugged. "That's what they call me. Anyway, nice talking to you Alexis. See you around school."

Alexis waved as Carmine ran towards the Slifer Red dorm. But as she watched Carmine's retreating form, Alexis finally put some puzzle pieces together regarding Carmine. At first she wasn't sure about Carmine after hearing Carmine's last name. But now, after chatting with Carmine, Alexis got a better idea as to why that was.

Alexis just put all those thoughts aside as she headed back to the Obelisk Blue girls' dorm.

* * *

 **And there we go. First chapter done. Hope you enjoyed and until next time!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Moving right along to the next chapter...**

* * *

 **Zane was walking through the halls,** heading towards the Obelisk Blue dorm. He had spent some time at the beach, something he did on occasion. It was getting late quick though, and dinner would be starting soon.

While he was walking however, someone had accidentally ran right into him. The collision sent the person to the ground.

"You should watch where you're going," Zane stated.

"Yeah that was my bad," the person said, getting back up. When they saw Zane they smiled. "Oh hey, aren't you Zane Truesdale?"

"It's common courtesy to give your own name when asking for someone else's."

"Ha-ha, right. I'm Carmine Kojima. I just transferred here today."

"A transfer student? There's something that's rare around here," Zane said.

"Yeah so I've heard. I probably would have enrolled like everyone else but I didn't have a reason to at first."

Zane narrowed his eyes. "That so?"

"Oh, I forgot! I need to get to the Slifer Red dorm for dinner! It was nice meeting you Zane!"

Carmine soon left after that.

 _Kojima huh?_ Zane thought. _Carmine Kojima…could it be? Hmm, guess I'll have to find out another time._

Zane just continued his way to his dorm.

* * *

As usual, Jaden chowed down during dinner. And as usual Syrus was trying to get him to slow down.

"Ease up Syrus," Jaden said. "I'm the kind of guy who knows how to throw down and chow down."

"Yeah well how about 'chowing down' more slowly? You're going to get sick at this rate!"

"Oh you're just overreacting Syrus," Jaden said, as he went back to eating.

Syrus just sighed. He figured it was futile at this rate. Syrus just ate his own dinner, at a much slower rate than Jaden, seeing as how he was the only one who hadn't eaten yet. Chumley finished his dinner not long ago. Of course he was muttering about how he wished he could have a grilled cheese sandwich, but that was just Chumley.

Syrus looked up when he saw Kojima, who had been sitting in the corner eating dinner, get up then leave the small dining hall. Guess he was done eating already too.

"Hey, doesn't Kojima have his own room?" Syrus asked.

"Yeah it's two doors down from ours," Jaden answered, once he finished his dinner. "Wonder if he's one of those loner-types. I mean, just this morning he didn't even bother to reply when I introduced myself."

"Maybe, I still think that maybe he just needs some time to adjust."

"If you say so Syrus," was all Jaden said.

* * *

The next time Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley met up with Kojima was in the hallway the next day. Since it was a Saturday, there weren't any classes to get to. Jaden and them were just on their way to the card shop to see if they could get some new cards. Then they saw Kojima coming from the direction of the shop.

"Hey, Jaden right?" Kojima said. "Sorry about yesterday. Wasn't in the best of moods to chat."

"Oh that? It's fine," Jaden said. "Hey if you were just at the card shop, mind telling us if they got any good cards?"

Kojima shrugged. "Nope. Haven't been to the shop. I've just been walking around really."

"Oh, well want to come with us then?"

Kojima shrugged again. "Why not? But I think I should introduce myself first. If you want you can call me Carmine. That's what I usually go by anyway."

"Well then nice to meet you Carmine."

"My name's Chumley Huffington," Chumley introduced.

"And I'm Syrus Truesdale."

Carmine smiled. "Nice to meet you guys then."

"So what kind of Deck do you have?" Jaden asked as the four headed to the shop.

"A bit of a mixture really," Carmine said. "Course I haven't really dueled in a long while."

"Well maybe after we hit the shop you and I can have a go," Jaden suggested with a smile.

"Uh, sure. Might as well get back into dueling somehow."

"Sweetness. First the card shop and then we throw down!"

"Is he always like this?" Carmine asked Syrus.

"Unfortunately," Syrus sighed. "He can be a bit of a hand full."

"A bit?"

"More like a lot sometimes."

"I'm sorry?"

"More unfortunately, I'm used to it by now," Syrus admitted.

Carmine chuckled as the four entered the card shop.

"See any cards packs you might want?" Carmine asked Syrus.

"Maybe," Syrus frowned. "But I'm not sure if I have enough points to get any."

"Oh," Carmine said. "What about you Chumley?"

"Chumley's checking out the sandwiches," Syrus said, pointing behind him. Carmine looked to see Chumley looking through the packs of sandwiches the shop also sold.

"Hey, check out this rare card I found!" Jaden smiled.

"Do you have enough points for it?" Carmine asked.

"No not really."

"Spend your points on sandwiches?"

"Kind of yeah," Jaden admitted, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "How many points do you have?"

"None. Remember I just got here and I haven't been able to earn any yet."

"Well let's go change that then. Let's just have that duel now."

"You mean in a Dueling Arena and not in the store obviously."

"Yeah yeah you know what I mean."

Jaden and the others headed straight for the Dueling Field to duel. Jaden stood on one side while Carmine stood on the other. Of course before they went to the arena they had to pay a visit to the Slifer Red dorms to get Carmine's deck.

"Hope you're ready to get your game on," Jaden smirked as the two activated their Duel Disks.

"We'll see," Carmine chuckled.

(J: 4000)

(C: 4000)

"Why don't you go first?"

"Why thank you kindly," Jaden smiled as he drew a card. "First I'll summon Elemental HERO Sparkman (1) in attack mode. Then I'll throw down two cards face down."

"My turn then." Carmine drew a card from his deck and momentarily stumbled. Carmine shook his head then looked at his hand. "I place one monster face down then place two cards face down as well. Your move Jaden."

"Well alright then. My move." After Jaden drew a card he overlooked his hand. "First I'll have Sparkman attack your face down monster!"

Sparkman just lifted a fist as electricity gathered around it. Then he jumped up and slammed his fist on top of the face down card, only to have the electricity blow back and strike Jaden.

(J: 4000-3600)

"Hold up, why did Jaden loose Life Points?" Syrus wondered out loud.

"That's because my Humanoid Slime (2) has more defense points than Sparkman's attack points."

The card that Sparkman attacked flipped up and a light blue slime humanoid appeared, crossing its arms over its card.

"Alright, not a bad move. I'll just play Elemental HERO Clayman (3) in defense mode then end my turn."

Carmine nodded then drew a card. Not a second later his vision started to get blurry. Shaking it off he glanced at his cards, eyes narrowed in concentration.

"Think he's okay?" Syrus whispered to Chumley, seeing this.

"Got me," Chumley whispered back. The two then focused back on the duel.

"I'll sacrifice my Humanoid Slime in order to summon Amphibian Beast (4) in attack mode!"

The slime monster then disappeared in order to make way for a tall green beast that had some amphibian-like features such as frills on its face, arms, and with webbed feet and hands.

"That is one wicked monster," Chumley awed.

"But I'm sure Jaden's got a way to counter it," Syrus said.

And judging from his smirk, he did.

"Better say good-bye to your giant frog because I play one of my face-downs—Trap Hole. This automatically destroys your monster due to the fact it has more than 1000 attack points."

Carmine smirked. "Nope, because I play my trap card Dark Bribe. This trap card negates the activation of your trap card. In exchange you get to draw one card." Jaden huffed then drew a card from his deck as Trap Hole was destroyed. "And now, Amphibian Beast, attack Sparkman!"

Amphibian Beast opened his mouth and shot out a strong jet of water right at Sparkman.

"Well that's not going to happen because I play my second face down Hero Barrier. With this card, your attack on my Sparkman is negated."

A force field appeared around Sparkman, shielding him from Amphibian Beast's attack. Carmine just wrinkled his nose.

"Fine then, I'll just place one card face down then activate my first face down Jar of Greed—allowing me to draw one card from my deck. I'll end my turn with that."

"Not a bad uel so far," Syrus commented.

"Yeah but I don't think Carmine is doing okay," Chumley added. True enough, as Jaden drew a card, Carmine started swaying on the spot. Jaden noticed this and asked if he was okay. Carmine didn't even get a chance to answer as he collapsed. While Jaden and the others rushed over, all the holograms from the Duel faded away.

"We need to get him to Miss Fontaine," Jaden said as Syrus helped get Carmine on Chumley's back in order to carry him. "Come on let's hurry."

"Oh great, running," Chumley groaned as the trio headed towards the infirmary.

* * *

Waking up in the infirmary was definitely not something Carmine enjoyed. Thankfully Miss Fontaine was able to help Carmine get over the shock.

"Seems you're awake," she smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Better than before," Carmine admitted.

"Good to hear."

"Hey Jay! Carmine's awake!" a familiar voice called.

"Seriously? Move!"

Before long Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley appeared looking relieved.

"Hey you're okay," Jaden smiled. "You scared us when you passed out like that in the middle of our duel."

"Yeah why was that Miss Fontaine?" Syrus asked.

"Is it because of my anemia?" Carmine asked. Miss Fontaine nodded.

"Do you have any pills for that?"

"I've got my vitamins yeah," Carmine answered, sitting up. "I take them everyday before breakfast."

"Well then from what I can conclude, you just didn't get enough to eat today. I'll have to write a note to Professor Banner to make sure you eat enough. After all, a growing girl such as yourself, especially one suffering from anemia, needs all the protein you can get."

While Carmine nodded, Jaden and the others stared at Miss Fontaine in disbelief then at Carmine.

"Whoa. You're a _girl_!"

Carmine blushed. "Well…yeah. You didn't notice?"

The three boys shook their heads.

"Oh…well," Carmine pulled the visor of her hat lower in attempts to hide her blush. "My bad."

"Well if you'll excuse me I have some matters to attend to apparently." Miss Fontaine turned to Carmine. "You should rest some more just in case. But before you leave see me and I'll see if I can't get Dorothy to cook up a meal for you too."

Carmine nodded as Miss Fontaine left.

"Whoa, free meal? Think I'll get one if I pretend to be anemic?" Jaden joked. Carmine giggled.

"Sorry Jay. Don't think you can pull that off. Plus, being anemic isn't very fun. Having to constantly check to make sure you've eaten enough, taken your vitamins, not staying out in the blazing sun too long, staying hydrated and what not," Carmine huffed. "But I digress."

"So why'd you pretend to be a boy?" Syrus inquired.

"I wasn't pretending."

"But you're wearing the boy's uniform."

Carmine shrugged. "It was the only uniform they gave me."

"But you're also wearing such big clothes."

Carmine blushed again. "Most of my clothes are big."

"And the hat?"

Carmine gripped the bed sheets and readjusted her hat.

"Reasons," was all she said. Then she took off said hat, showing her layered short black hair, scratched the back of her head, then placed the hat back on. "Anyway, sorry for worrying you guys."

"Ah s'okay, we're just glad to see that you're alright," Jaden smiled. "Too bad about the duel though. Well, good for you though."

Carmine raised her eyebrows. "Oh yeah? Why's that?"

"Because I drew this."

Jaden showed her a Polymerization card.

"You were planning on fusing Sparkman and Clayman together huh?"

Jaden nodded.

"Yeah well, we'll just let you rest now Carmine," Syrus said.

"See you back at the dorm!" Jaden waved as the three boys left.

"I'll buy you a sandwich from the shop!" Chumley said.

"Yeah if you don't eat it!" Syrus laughed. Carmine just smiled then laid back down and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Cards appearing in this chapter:

(1)

Elemental HERO Sparkman

Attribute: Light

Type: Warrior

Level: 4

ATK/DEF: 1600/1400

(2)

Humaniod Slime

Attribute: Water

Type: Aqua

Level: 4

ATK/DEF: 800/2000

(3)

Elemental HERO Clayman

Attribute: Earth

Type: Warrior

Level: 4

ATK/DEF: 800/2000

(4)

Amphibian Beast

Attribute: Water

Type: Fish

Level: 6

ATK/DEF: 2400/2000

* * *

 **Another chapter over and done with. Until next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Eventually I'll figure out chapter titles for these chapters, but until then, here you go!**

* * *

 **Carmine was finally allowed to leave** the infirmary around three. Before she could she had to eat a full plate of food that Miss Fontaine brought her then let Miss Fontaine do one final check-up on her before giving her the note to give to Professor Banner when Carmine saw him.

After leaving the infirmary Carmine just wandered around the school again. She didn't have any set destination in mind. Most of the time she just liked wandering around.

"Hey Carmine."

Carmine turned around to see Alexis walking up to her.

"Oh, hey Alexis," Carmine smiled.

"Heard that you were in the infirmary for four hours. You okay?"

"Oh that? I just passed out due to my anemia so Miss Fontaine had me get some extra rest just in case. Sorry for the worry," Carmine chuckled sheepishly.

"Anemia huh? Not something you want to have."

"Tell me about it." Carmine and Alexis started to walk through the halls. "But it's all good. It's just something I got to learn to deal with you know?"

"I understand. Too bad about your duel with Jaden though. It would have been interesting to see how it would have ended."

"Man, you seem to know quite a lot," Carmine chuckled.

Alexis giggled. "Yeah well, let's just say that there's some things that are hard to keep a secret. Plus it kind of helps when one of my friends was passing by while the duel was going on."

"Oh is that so?"

Alexis nodded. "Yeah, Jewels likes to gossip about the students. In a good way I mean."

Carmine laughed. "I'll take your word for it."

"Anyway, how about we have a quick duel in the meantime? But on our Duel Pilots instead of Duel Disks. No need for you to pass out again," Alexis giggled.

Carmine nodded. "Sure, I don't see why not."

Alexis nodded. "Okay then, let's head to the library. I need to catch up on my studying so once we're done I can get started."

"Sounds like a good idea. After all, I missed an entire month of the school year already. I need to make sure I'm caught up."

The two continued their way, heading towards the library, when they heard someone calling out to Alexis. The two girls turned to see a guy around the same age as Alexis with black hair wearing the Obelisk Blue boy's uniform.

"Hey Alexis," he said upon catching up with them. "I was wondering if—" The guy finally saw Carmine and scowled. "Who are you?"

"Gee, aren't _we_ nice?" Carmine grumbled then said, "I'm Carmine Kojima. I just transferred. Remember? We have morning class together."

"And you're a Slifer Slacker," the guy said.

"Uh, yeah I'm in the Slifer Red dorm, thought the color of my blazer made that obvious."

"Look Chazz, unless you have something you wanted to say, Carmine and I were on our way to the library to get some studying in. You want to join us?" Alexis asked.

Chazz scoffed. "What do _I_ need to study for? I'm already one of the best Duelists in all of Duel Academy."

"Sure you are Chazz," Alexis muttered as the two just turned around. "Well then. See you later."

* * *

"What was _that_ all about?"

Alexis looked up from her Duel Pilot. The two were currently in the library dueling on their Duel Pilots. Right now the two were tied in Life Points but Alexis already had a strategy worked out to win her the duel.

"Oh Chazz just has a huge ego. And he has this _thing_ against Slifers," Alexis answered. "But he's not _that_ big of a problem if you know how to handle him."

"Ah, so that's it. I think I'll be fine. I've handled people like him, and worse, a lot back home."

"Yeah, I think that's the reason why Doctor Crowler favors him so much," Alexis said as she flipped over a trap card in order to counter Carmine's special summon. "Doctor Crowler can't stand Slifers either. Especially after Jaden beat him in a duel during the entrance exams."

"Oh really? Wish I had been there to see that," Carmine giggled. "Must have been one heck of a duel."

"What about you?" Alexis asked as Carmine countered one of her spells. "Looks like you've got some good dueling skills yourself."

"Yeah well, I've been dueling since I was a kid. My older brother was the one who taught me how."

Alexis gave a small smile. "You got an older brother?"

Carmine gave a small, but slightly sad smile. "Yeah. I owe him a lot."

"Sounds like you really look up to him."

Carmine frowned. "Yeah."

There it was, that dark tone again from last night. Alexis was worried about what was causing that tone but thought it best not to ask. Alexis just focused back on the duel as Carmine destroyed all her monsters with a spell card.

* * *

It was after the two had left the library that Doctor Crowler showed up, looking for Carmine. He called for her just as they were heading towards the Academy's store to look at new cards. The two had managed to rack up a lot of points from the practice duels they did. Then they heard Doctor Crowler's voice.

Carmine and Alexis turned around and saw him walking over towards them.

"You are Carmine Kojima correct?" he asked.

"Yes, sir, what is it?" Carmine asked.

"Chancellor Sheppard wishes to see you in his office," Doctor Crowler replied.

"Oh, okay."

Doctor Crowler, knowing that his job was done, then left. Alexis could have sworn she heard him mutter about how he much he didn't like having to be the one to go out and deliver such a message to a Slifer Slacker. Alexis just rolled her eyes.

Alexis heard Carmine sigh then looked to see her head towards Chancellor Sheppard's office.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine. I just think that I know the reason why he wants to see me." Carmine let out another sigh. "And it makes me almost _wish_ I was in trouble." Carmine then looked down the hallway before shifting her weight uncomfortably. "Hey uh, Alexis? You mind, er, coming with me?"

"For support?" Carmine blushed but nodded. "Sure. I can do that."

Carmine smiled as a show of thanks. The two then headed towards Chancellor Sheppard's office then entered.

"You wanted to see me Chancellor?" Carmine asked upon entering.

Chancellor Sheppard, who was looking through papers, looked up.

"Ah yes," he smiled. "You received a letter just this morning." Chancellor Sheppard reached into his desk then presented the letter.

"Who's it from?" Carmine asked as she walked over and took the letter from him.

"…It's from your parents."

Carmine looked at the man with wide eyes. Then she narrowed her eyes, as if trying to find out if he was lying to her. "My _parents_ sent _me_ a letter?"

Chancellor Sheppard nodded. "Just see for yourself."

Carmine looked at the address. Sure enough, the address printed on it was one she wanted to forget existed.

"Hey, that's great that your parents sent you a letter," Alexis smiled. "Most of the time students here don't get one. I think they mostly just wait until break or something."

"Yeah, real great," Carmine muttered.

"Well my dear, aren't you going to open it? Shouldn't you at least do that?"

Carmine opened the letter and began to read. By the time she was finished reading, she had her head low with her hat shadowing her face.

"Something wrong?" Alexis asked.

Carmine didn't say anything. Instead, she just held up the letter…and began to rip it into pieces.

"Nothing but a load of garbage," she said once she was finished ripping up the letter. Then she turned around and started to walk out of the office. She only stopped at the doorway when Alexis asked why she had ripped up the letter.

"Like I said. It was noting but a load of garbage."

"But it was from your parents!" Alexis protested.

"Oh yeah? Then how about they say those things to my face instead of just hiding behind a piece of paper!" Carmine snapped back. "Why not for once say they care about me to my face? Or, better yet, just tell me that they don't and get it over with."

Alexis wasn't sure what to say about that. Carmine just shook her head.

"Just…never mind. Sorry for the outburst Chancellor."

Carmine then left the office.

"Should have known she'd react like that," Chancellor Sheppard sighed. "Then again, who wouldn't in her situation?"

"What do you mean?" Alexis asked. "Just what is going on between Carmine and her parents Chancellor?"

"Well, normally I'd say you'd have to ask Carmine that question if you'd want to know but, I doubt she's in the mood to answer."

"Do you know?"

"Yes but, for now I'll just give you a short version. If you want to know the full story you'll have to ask Carmine."

Chancellor Sheppard got up from his chair then walked to his window, gazing out at the scenery.

"You see, Carmine and her family suffered a tragedy quite some time ago that has been the seed, shall we say, of their unhappiness. It is that tragedy that still burdens them."

"What kind of tragedy was it?"

"…For now, let's just say that it was one that affected many people. But Carmine's family the most."

"Okay then, this tragedy, is it the reason for Carmine and her parents not getting along?"

"Oh most definitely. But I'm afraid that's all I can say on this subject for now."

Alexis nodded. "I understand." Then Alexis left the office. Chancellor Sheppard just continued to look out the window.

 _I just hope young Yulene can overcome that tragedy,_ he thought. _I'm sure Shawn would be devastated seeing her the way she is now._

Chancellor Sheppard just sighed then sat back down at his desk, going back through his papers.

* * *

 **Another chapter done. Just fyi I had like the first six chapters of this fanfic done long ago. Decided to upload them every so often so I can at least upload something in the meantime while I work on my other stuff. Anyway, until next time!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Another chapter for you all**

* * *

 **Carmine was storming her way back** towards the Slifer Red dorm, wanting to vent in her room where no one could bother her or see her. However, she never got there because on her way there she felt her Duel Pilot vibrate. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she pulled it out and checked the message she received.

 _Meet me at the harbor in five. Bring your deck and Duel Disk._

Carmine stared at the message with narrowed eyes. The message didn't show who had sent it. That meant this could probably be a trap, one set up by some cocky student or something. Maybe even that Chazz Princeton. It made Carmine wonder if she should accept.

On the other hand, this could be a great opportunity to relieve herself of her anger and frustration. Carmine instantly chided herself for thinking that way. Her brother taught her better than that.

Letting out a long sigh, something that she needed in order to calm herself down, Carmine pocketed her Duel Pilot then headed towards the harbor.

* * *

Zane waited at the harbor, arms crossed as he faced the ocean, eyes closed as he stood there. Soon he heard footsteps that caused him to open his eyes and look. Walking towards him was Carmine, Duel Disk strapped to her arm, hands in her pockets.

"You decided to show up I see," Zane said, turning to face her.

Carmine's blue eyes widened at the sight of him. "Zane? _You_ challenged me?"

"I did, so get ready to duel," Zane told her, activating his Duel Disk.

"I don't know why you challenged me but I'll accept anyway," Carmine replied, activating her own.

"Answers," was all Zane said as he drew his hand. Carmine just looked at him oddly.

(Z: 4000)

(C: 4000)

"If you don't mind, I'll be going first," Zane said, drawing a card. "And first, I'll set one monster face down then set two cards face down as well. And with that, I end my turn."

"Alright, then it's my move." Carmine drew a card then evaluated her hand. "First I'll play the spell card Nobleman of Crossout. This spell card automatically destroys and banishes your face down monster."

"Not a bad move but you activate its special ability. You see, when Cyber Jar (1) is flipped up, both Duelists have to reveal the top five cards on their Deck. Then, if any of the cards revealed are monster cards that are Level 4 and under, we each special summon them in either attack or defense mode. Any other cards we just add to our hand."

"Fine then," Carmine said as she drew five cards. Then she showed the cards she drew. Cyber Harpy Lady (2), Pot of Avarice, Flying Kamakiri #1 (3), Harpie Lady 1 (4), and Harpies' Hunting Ground. "I'll summon all three monsters in attack mode due to the affect of Cyber Jar." Carmine looked at the cards Zane was showing.

In his hands were Nanobreaker (5), Drillago (6), Cyber Raider (7), and Pot of Greed. Carmine got a bit worried since she wasn't familiar with the monsters in his hand, wondering what possible special abilities they might have, but tried not to show it.

"Same as you, I think I'll summon my monsters in attack mode," Zane stated calmly.

 _He's summoning them in attack mode? Why? Due to Harpy Lady 1 all three of my monsters gain 300 more attack points, which makes them stronger than his,_ Carmine thought. _He's probably planning something._

"Since my three monsters were special summoned," Carmine said, "I'll normal summon my Breaker the Magical Warrior (8). And since he was summoned normally, he gains a Spell Counter that increases his attack power by 300. However, I'll just use that Spell Counter in order to destroy one of your face down cards."

Breaker's sword glowed with purple energy right before he rushed forward and stabbed his sword through one of Zane's face down cards. Zane showed no reaction when it shattered.

 _Guy's as solid as a statue,_ Carmine thought.

"Anyway, first I'll have Breaker destroy your Cyber Raider."

Breaker brandished his sword then sliced right through Cyber Raider.

(Z: 4000—3800)

"Next I'll have my Cyber Harpy Lady attack your Nanobreaker."

Cyber Harpy Lady flew up high into the air, and then did a swan dive straight at Nanobreaker, slicing right through her before flying back over to Carmine's side.

(Z: 3800—3300)

"Now, I'll have Flying Kamakiri #1 destroy your last monster, leaving you wide open to an attack."

The large insect slashed through Drillago as if it were paper, adding more damage to Zane's Life Points.

(Z: 3300—3200)

"But don't forget about my Harpy Lady 1. She gets to attack you directly."

Showing off her fangs, Harpy Lady 1 flew right through Zane, claws outstretched. Zane flinched but only just barley.

(Z: 3200—1600)

"And with that, I'll end my turn finally," Carmine said, standing up a bit straighter. Honestly, having just knocked out so many of Zane's Life Points didn't make her feel any better. Well, actually it _did_ relieve her of some of her anger, but it left her with a bad feeling. Her dueling instinct told her that Zane was planning something. She hoped that she wasn't falling into a trap.

"Now that you're finally done," Zane stated calmly. He drew a card. "It's my turn. And first, due to the fact that you have a monster of your side of the field and I have none, I'm allowed to special summon my Cyber Dragon (9) in attack mode directly from my hand."

A cybernetic dragon, that looked more like a snake in Carmine's eyes actually, appeared on Zane's field, towering above her.

"Too bad he's not going to stay for long. The reason being I'm going to play the spell card Dark Hole. This spell card destroys all monsters on the field."

Carmine cringed. _So he_ was _planning something!_

All the monsters on the field shattered as a small black hole opened up right above them, their pieces getting sucked inside.

"And now I'll play my face down—Call of the Haunted. And with it, I'll bring back my Cyber Dragon. But even now it's not going to be staying for long. Because the next spell card I'm going to play is Power Bond."

 _This isn't going to be good,_ Carmine thought.

"This spell card allows me to fusion summon a monster and then _doubles_ its attack points. And thanks to the card I just drew, I'm going to fusion summon Cyber Twin Dragon (10)."

"Oh yeah, _definitely_ not good," Carmine said as she watched both the Cyber Dragons fuse together. Soon she was looking at a cybernetic dragon that had two heads. "And seeing as how you have nothing on your field to defend yourself. It's a safe bet that this Duel is over. Cyber Twin Dragon, attack her directly!"

Carmine shielded her eyes as the two heads of the dragon blasted her at the same time.

(C: 4000—0)

(C: L)

(Z: W)

Carmine sank to the ground as the hologram that was Cyber Twin Dragon faded away. Zane walked over as Carmine pounded the ground in frustration.

"That's what I get for playing when I'm angry," she growled. Carmine looked up at Zane. "You played great. No wonder you're the top student here. But I gotta know, why did you sacrifice all those Life Points? You could have summoned your monsters in defense and not lost a single point."

"Because if I did that, you probably wouldn't have attacked in suspicion I was planning something," Zane answered calmly.

"Yeah, you're right about that. I had a feeling you were planning something but I attacked anyway. I didn't even think of setting any spell or trap cards to defend myself with all my monsters on the field like that. Just goes to show how much I have to learn."

"Perhaps that has something to do with what you said, about dueling when angry. Anger can cloud a person's judgment. I expected more from the younger sister of Shawn Kojima."

Carmine gasped then looked at Zane with disbelieving eyes. "How'd you know?"

"Wasn't that hard. I once had the honor of dueling your brother. Afterward, he mentioned having a younger sister who once wanted to come to this academy. Plus your cards match the one's he described when he mentioned you."

Carmine's shoulders slumped. "Oh, so that's how huh? Guess you must remember him well then."

"Yeah. I remember he was a dueling legend. He was a dueling champion ever since he was nine. The guy was pretty popular in the Duel Monster world."

"Of course he was! He was one of the best Duelists there were!" she blurted out standing up. "O-Oh…sorry…about that. It's just…" Her voice trailed off as she looked away.

"It's okay. I know what happened. And I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thanks, and could you do me a favor?"

"A favor?" he asked raising an eyebrow.

"Look I don't want people knowing about Shawn being my older brother. It's…complicated."

"…I guess I can do that, but why keep it a secret?"

"Like I said. It's pretty complicated."

"Speaking of your brother. I don't mean to pry or anything but what happened to him? How did he—"

"How did he die? I know that better than anyone," she said, muttering the last part while looking down at the ground. "…I was there."

"Wait…you were _there_?"

Carmine nodded. Then she took her shoes off and sat on the edge kicking her feet in the water while Zane just stood there, watching her.

"Okay before I tell you I have to ask," she said facing him. "How did your duel with him go? My brother used to tell me all about his duels if I never got to see them myself."

"It was a long time ago but I still remember the duel like it was yesterday."

"Really? Did you win?"

"Actually I lost," he admitted. "Even so I was close to winning. That's when he told me that little saying of his. I'm sure you know which one I'm talking about."

"Yeah, he had a lot of sayings and stuff like that." Carmine glanced out at the ocean and the setting sun. "Anyway…the night he died, there was a dueling tournament but something happened and he couldn't go. He was really upset about it."

"What happened then?" Zane asked. "Last I remember he made it to that tournament."

"Yeah, he did," she said softly. "…Thanks to me."

Zane looked at her in confusion. After a taking a deep breath she started to explain.

"After he found out he couldn't go to the tournament he was really bummed. I just couldn't really see him so down in the dumps so…so I came up with an idea. I convinced him to sneak out and go anyway. After climbing out the back window and taking the car we went to the tournament."

"Which he won, as everyone knows," Zane said. "Then what happened?"

"After the tournament was over we started to head back to our house. On the way though this truck driver ran a red light…straight into our car. The collision sent our car tumbling and spinning right into a street pole. For some reason, police arrived not even three minutes after the accident so we were rushed to the hospital immediately."

Zane remained quiet as he waited for Carmine to continue. She paused for a few more minutes then continued.

"After three hours I finally woke up. My first thought was to make sure Shawn was okay but…I found out he didn't make it. So now you know," she said quietly. "That's what happened."

"You shouldn't blame yourself for what happened. You know that right?"

"I know," she sighed. "But I just can't help but think that if I never snuck him out nothing would have happened."

She stood up then started to put her shoes back on. "But sitting here and crying over something that already happened isn't going to help. The only reason I enrolled into Duel Academy was to fulfill a promise I made to him a long time ago."

"How noble of you," Zane said as she straightened up.

"Problem? I have my own reasons for dueling. And that's to keep my brother's dreams and memory alive."

"Really? Why not duel for yourself? Hard to be a good Duelist if you're not, in essence, the one dueling."

"I do thank you! I enjoy dueling just as much as my brother. Plus dueling was one of the only times I got to hang out with my brother."

"Why is that? Was he always busy with his dueling career?" Zane questioned.

"You can say that yeah. All thanks to my _parents,_ " she said, spitting out the last part like it was poison. "But that's a whole different story."

After that, she started to walk away. Zane didn't stop her, seeing as he got the answers he wanted. He would have to admit he was a bit curious as to what she meant by her last comment but thought he had pried enough. For now, he would leave things as they were. He figured she'd talk about it when she was ready. Taking one last look at the ocean, he saw the sun vanish as nighttime began.

* * *

Cards appearing in this chapter:

(1)

Attribute: Dark

Types: Rock/Effect

Level: 3

ATK/DEF: 900/900

Effect: FLIP: Destroy all monsters on the field, then both players reveal the top 5 cards from their Decks, then Special Summon all revealed Level 4 or lower monsters in face-up Attack Position or face-down Defense Position, also add any remaining cards to their hand. (If either player has less than 5 cards in their Deck, reveal as many as possible.)

(2)

Cyber Harpie Lady

Attribute: Wind

Types: Winged Beast/Effect

Level: 4

ATK/DEF: 1800/1300

Effect: (This card's name is always treated as "Harpie Lady".)

(3)

Flying Kamakiri 1

Attribute: Wind

Types: Insect/Effect

Level: 4

ATK/DEF: 1400/900

Effect: When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard: You can Special Summon 1 WIND monster with 1500 or less ATK from your Deck, in face-up Attack Position.

(4)

Harpy Lady 1

Attribute: Wind

Types: Winged Beast/Effect

Level: 4

ATK/DEF: 1300/1400

Effect: (This card's name is always treated as "Harpie Lady".)

All WIND monsters gain 300 ATK.

(5)

Nanobreaker

Attribute: Earth

Types: Machine/Effect

Level: 4

ATK/DEF: 1600/1800

Effect: If this card attacks a face-up Level 3 or lower monster, destroy the monster with this card's effect without applying damage calculation.

(6)

Drillago

Attribute: Dark

Types: Machine/Effect

Level: 4

ATK/DEF: 1600/110

Effect: If the only cards your opponent controls are face-up monsters with 1600 or more ATK, this card can attack your opponent directly.

(7)

Cyber Raider

Attribute: Dark

Types: Machine/Effect

Level: 4

ATK/DEF: 1400/1000

Effect: When this card is Summoned: Activate 1 of these effects.

● Target 1 Equip Card equipped to a monster on the field; destroy that target.  
● Target 1 Equip Card equipped to a monster on the field; equip that target to this card.

(8)

Breaker the Magical Warrior

Attribute: Dark

Types: Spellcaster/Effect

Level: 4

ATK/DEF: 1600/1000

Effect: If this card is Normal Summoned: Place 1 Spell Counter on it (max. 1). This card gains 300 ATK for each Spell Counter on it. You can remove 1 Spell Counter from this card, then target 1 Spell/Trap Card on the field; destroy that target.

(9)

Cyber Dragon

Attribute: Light

Types: Machine/Effect

Level: 5

ATK/DEF: 2100/1600

Effect: If your opponent controls a monster and you control no monsters, you can Special Summon this card (from your hand).

(10)

Cyber Twin Dragon

Attribute: Light

Types: Machine/Fusion/Effect

Level: 8

ATK/DEF: 2800/2100

Effect: This card can make a second attack during each Battle Phase.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sooooo, I forgot I've had this chapter finished for almost a year and just never uploaded it. Haha, whoops ^-^;**

* * *

 **The next few days, Carmine had** been studying for the school's promotion exams. If she passed she could advance out of Slifer Red and into Ra Yellow. She felt deep down that she didn't _really_ have to study for the exams, having learned everything she knew about dueling from her brother, but she wanted to just in case. Better to be safe than sorry right?

Of course, it would have been even better to see some of the other students studying like she was. Some kids were just goofing off, or just parading around thinking they were already good enough so they didn't have to study. A strong part of her knew they weren't going to do as well as they think they were going to. She saw it happen to kids all the time. But she wondered whether or not Jaden and the others were going to be okay.

Sure they were preparing for the exams, but their version of preparing wasn't exactly Carmine's ideal ways of making sure she got a good grade.

"Jaden, are you _seriously_ not even going to study?" she questioned the brunet one time as they left class. "You're probably going to fail if you don't. You can't just rely on passing your field test."

"Nah no worries," he said. "I may flunk from time to time but I _never_ fail."

Carmine raised an eyebrow but said nothing more after that. Afterward, she headed back from her dorm to one of the dueling arenas. That way she could get some dueling practice in and so she could rack up some DP in case she ever needed some new cards.

Once there she asked if anyone wanted to duel her, to which almost every student there said no. Carmine just let out a long sigh then sat down, figuring that her plans were already not going the way she had hoped. Now she just needed to figure out a way to work around it.

"Looking for a dueling partner?"

Carmine looked to see Alexis walking up to her, Duel Disk strapped to her wrist.

"You came here to practice your dueling skills too?" Carmine asked.

"Yeah I was planning on it," Alexis replied. "Judging from the fact you've got your Duel Disk you were planning on it too?"

"That's right. I wanted to practice for the promotional exams."

"You know, I wanted to ask why you're in Slifer Red. Nowadays, girls get automatically enrolled into Obelisk Blue."

Carmine looked at Alexis with an expression that made it seem like she told her the school caught on fire.

"You're…kidding me right?" she said. "They can't _really_ do that. I mean that's like totally unfair! Why does being a girl grant an automatic ticket into Obelisk blue?"

Alexis shrugged. "Got me, all I know is that's how it's been for the past couple of years. I had to study to get in plus I went to a prestige school before coming here. When I first enrolled I was told that even despite the fact girls get into Obelisk Blue I had enough skill to be in it."

"Yeah well, they're not going to make me get into Blue just like that. If I'm going to be an Obelisk Blue I'm going to earn my way into it."

Carmine then started to pack up her stuff and started to jump down the stairs then took off running.

"Where are you going?" Alexis shouted after her.

"I have to make sure they don't enroll me into Obelisk Blue yet!" she shouted back. "I don't care what it takes! Even if I have to force Chancellor Sheppard to let me stay in Slifer Red, I made a promise!"

Alexis blinked, trying to process all that. Wait, was this really such a big deal?

"Pardon me," a voice asked.

Alexis looked to see Lioside standing there.

"Uh, yes sir," Alexis said. "Is there something you need?"

"Yes, do you know where Carmine went just now? I needed to speak to her about her enrollment into Obelisk Blue."

"Well, actually she went to speak to Chancellor Sheppard in regards to that."

"I see. Thank you then."

Lioside left. As he did Alexis thought a bit to herself. Then, without another thought's hesitation, she left to find Jaden. She figured he might want to hear about this, she just hoped he wouldn't do anything stupid.

* * *

Carmine dashed to Chancellor Sheppard's office. She thrust the door open and ran inside.

"Chancellor you've _got_ to let me stay in the Slifer Red dorm!" Carmine said, slamming her hands on his desk.

Chancellor Sheppard looked up from his papers, overcoming his shock when she burst into his office. Acting calm, he used his phone to ask for Ms. Fontaine to come to his office, saying there was something they needed to discuss.

Carmine waited until Ms. Fontaine showed up.

"You asked for me, Chancellor?" the nurse asked.

"Yes, it appears we have to discuss the situation of one of our students," he replied calmly, gesturing to Carmine. "Seems she'd like to stay in Slifer Red instead of going to Obelisk Blue."

"Chancellor Sheppard I'm _begging_ you!" Carmine said, clapping her hands together and having her head low, almost causing her hat to fall off. "You know the reason I enrolled here at Duel Academy. So you _know_ the reason I've _got_ to stay in Slifer Red!"

"Yes we're aware of that," Ms. Fontaine said. "But there's still a problem. You see, normally female students are enrolled into Obelisk Blue regardless of skill level due to the fact that the Obelisk is the only dorm that has the appropriate housing."

"But there have been female students in Slifer Red and Ra Yellow!" Carmine protested.

"That is very true," Sheppard agreed. "But due to the fact that most of our female students just advanced to Obelisk Blue over time, plus, since the number of students in Ra Yellow and Slifer Red increased, the previous housing for female students was changed."

"In addition," Ms. Fontaine added. "We've tried to get the funding to remodel the two dorms to accommodate for this but since no female students _want_ to be in those dorms anymore and want to be in Obelisk Blue, we've haven't been able to get the funding required."

"Well, you know _I_ want to be in Slifer Red. The only way I want to get into Obelisk Blue by _earning_ my way into it. That has to count for something."

"Yes, that it does," Sheppard agreed. "In fact, that's precisely the reason I believe you should stay in Slifer Red until then as well."

Carmine looked at him in shock.

"R-Really?"

Ms. Fontaine nodded. "That's right. With this, we may be able to get the funding to remodel the dorms."

"So then, I can stay in Slifer Red?"

The two adults nodded.

"Alright!" Carmine cheered, pumping a fist into the air.

"Of course," Ms. Fontaine said, causing Carmine to look at the nurse. "There are still some conditions that need to be discussed."

"Like what?"

"For one thing, you are to use the Obelisk Blue girls' bathhouse instead of the bathhouse at the Slifer Red dorm." Carmine nodded. "And you are forbidden to stay in any other room while at the Slifer dorm. You're lucky that you have your own room already. You are also forbidden to have anyone in your room unless given permission by a teacher."

Carmine nodded. "Anything else?"

"Those are the rules for now," Ms. Fontaine said. "But be warned. If you break any of these conditions, then there is going to be some serious punishment, understand?"

"Got it," Carmine smiled.

"And we'll see if we can order you a female uniform so you don't have to wear the boy's uniform," Ms. Fontaine laughed. "That's another reason for the fact girls are admitted into Obelisk Blue. We don't have anymore Slifer and Ra female uniforms."

"Sounds good," Carmine laughed, putting her hands behind her head. Just then the door to the office burst open again, and two certain students came stumbling in.

* * *

Jaden and Syrus were going through another practice duel on their Duel Pilots when Alexis came bursting into the room.

"Alexis?" Jaden blinked. "What's the matter?"

"It's Carmine," she told them. "She's being forced into Obelisk Blue."

"Being forced? Why would they do that?" Syrus asked.

"It's one of the rules here I think. All female students who go to Duel Academy are automatically admitted into Obelisk Blue, regardless of dueling skills from what I know. But I don't know why really," Alexis explained. "All I know for sure is that apparently she's not allowed to stay in Slifer Red anymore."

"That's messed up," Jaden said. "She shouldn't be _forced_ into Obelisk Blue just because she's a girl. I mean, if she wants to be a Slifer, let her be a Slifer right?"

"Don't worry. She's thinking the same thing because once she learned this, she ran off to Chancellor Sheppard's office to try and convince him to let her stay in Slifer Red."

"Then let's go help her out," Jaden decided. "Maybe we can help."

Before Alexis could say anything else, Jaden ran out of the room with Syrus trying to catch up. She followed after them and caught up with them at the door to Chancellor Sheppard's office. Alexis saw they were struggling to open the door.

"Since when is this door jammed?" Jaden grunted as he struggled to open the door.

"Ever think they just locked it so no one can burst right in?" Alexis stated as she walked over.

"She's right Jay," Syrus said. "We can't just bust right in there when they're talking."

"But we gotta help Carmine," Jaden said, continuing to try and open the door.

"Come on Jay, just wait until they're done talking," Syrus said, trying to pull Jaden away from the door. However, the door soon opened up, causing the two boys to stumble inside on accident.

"Real graceful entrance there," Alexis sighed, entering the office.

"Jaden? Syrus? Alexis?" Carmine blinked. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We came to help convince Chancellor Sheppard to not force you into Obelisk Blue," Jaden explained.

Hearing that the chancellor began to laugh.

"Oh, there's no need to worry about that my dear boy. Carmine isn't getting into Obelisk Blue unless she gets promoted to Ra Yellow first."

"So you're not forcing her into Obelisk Blue?"

Carmine shook her head. "Nope. I'm staying right where I am."

"That's awesome!" Jaden smiled, getting up off the ground. "This calls for a celebration!"

Carmine blinked. "Oh yeah? And what do you have in mind?"

"How about a celebration duel? You and me Carmine. Ready to throw down?"

"How about we just get something to eat instead?" Carmine laughed, after hearing Jaden's stomach growl. "It'll be my treat."

"Yeah, that sounds good."

"Thanks again Chancellor Sheppard, Ms. Fontaine!" Carmine shouted over her shoulder as the four left the office.

* * *

 **Whelp, that's all for this chapter. Haha pretty short and uneventful. Rest assured there'll be more in the next one. Until then!**


	6. Chapter 6

**It's been awhile but finally got around to finishing up this chapter. Hope you guys enjoy!**

* * *

 **Carmine had been double-checking her** deck for some time now. Today was the day of the examination tests, which meant she needed to be at the top of her game.

 _I wonder if I'll be promoted,_ she thought to herself. _It'd be nice but I honestly don't think I'm ready to leave Slifer Red just yet._

A knocking on Carmine's door brought her out of her thoughts. She got up and opened the door to reveal Ms. Fontaine.

"Oh, good afternoon Ms. Fontaine," Carmine said. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Your Slifer uniform finally arrived," she smiled. "Here you are."

"Oh, thanks." Carmine took the bundle of clothes from Ms. Fontaine. "Let me get changed real quick."

"Good because once you get changed you need to go to your designated classroom to take the first have of your examination test."

Carmine nodded then closed the door to get changed.

* * *

Alexis managed to run into Carmine on their way to take their written exams. She was talking to Mindy and Jasmine about whom they might be dueling in the dueling half of the exams when Mindy spotted Carmine heading their way.

Carmine was fussing over her skirt and muttering to herself.

"Finally got your new uniform I see," Alexis said as the three girls walked over to her. "Doesn't look so bad on you."

Carmine made a face as she continued to mess with the skirt. Her new uniform was nearly the same as the girls' only her top was red with darker red trimmings, a white decorative area on the chest also bordered by dark red trimmings, a white miniskirt, red fingerless gloves, and red boots.

"Problem with the skirt there?" Mindy giggled.

"Yeah, I never wore a skirt _this_ short before," Carmine admitted. "And certainly not as part of a school uniform."

"It just takes some getting used to," Jasmine told her. "Besides, once you pass the promotional exam you'll get into Ra Yellow."

"Yeah but I'll admit that I kind of still enjoy being in Slifer Red," Carmine said as the four girls entered the classroom. "Not only that but the skirt is the same length no matter what dorm."

"Oh no need to worry about that," Mindy said. "You get used to it after a while."

"Yeah right," Carmine muttered, taking her seat.

 _I guess whatever will need to happen will happen,_ she thought as Banner started to pass out the written exam. _But first things first, passing the exams._

* * *

Carmine felt physically exhausted after she had finished her written exam. She stretched her arms out and glanced around the room. By now most of the students had finished as well, some of those including Alexis and Bastion she noticed, but she also saw Syrus and Jaden fast asleep in their seats. Carmine sighed and slumped a bit in her seat.

 _Well, I hope those two passed,_ she thought.

Carmine stretched out her fingers once more then pulled out her Duel Pilot, checking her deck to make sure everything was in order. As she looked at her cards she ran over the strategies she had come up with the previous night in her head, not realizing how fast the time went until Banner spoke up.

"Alright now class, the written exam is now over. Now would you please walk, _not_ run, to get in line for today's new rare cards."

"They're _here_?" a student asked, jumping up.

"Oh dear."

Carmine struggled to get out of students' way as everyone practically raced out of the class. After being pushed this way and that by her fellow students, Carmine blew a stray strand of hair out of her face and searched the ground for the Duel Pilot she had lost during the scramble.

"Crazy, don't you think?" Bastion said, kneeling down with Carmine's Duel Pilot in hand.

"Tell me about it," Carmine said, getting up. "And thanks. Guess we're the only ones not racing to go get rare cards in class."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that." Bastion pointed to a still sleeping Syrus and Jaden.

"The fact that they managed to sleep through all that is astounding," Carmine sighed, placing a hand on her head.

Carmine and Bastion walked down to the two sleeping Slifers.

"Hey, you two might want to give some serious thought to waking up," Bastion said, shaking Syrus's shoulders.

"Come on guys, wake up," Carmine added, shaking Jaden's shoulders.

Syrus soon sprang up and looked between Bastion and Carmine.

"Oh, don't tell me. I flunked, didn't I? Aw man, I'm a complete failure!" he said.

Jaden woke up laughing as he sat up.

"Man Syrus, if they were grading on melodrama you'd get an A for sure."

"Oh, real funny Jay." Syrus looked around the classroom as if he was looking at it for the first time. "Hey, where did everyone else go?"

"That's why we were trying to wake you guys up," Carmine said.

"Yes, the new rare cards have just arrived so everyone's at the card shop," Bastion said.

"WHAT? How come no one told us?" Syrus exclaimed.

"Simple. Everyone wants to keep the best card for themselves so they can get an advantage for the upcoming field test."

"So wait, how come you two aren't trying to go get any rare cards?"

"Oh please, one errant card and the delicate balance of my deck would be thrown off."

"Well, I wouldn't put it that way but same here," Carmine shrugged. "Wouldn't want a new card to mess up all the strategies I've planned out."

"Yeah well mine couldn't," Syrus said.

"Hey I'm with you," Jaden said, "I mean, there's nothing like the smell of new cards in the morning. Thanks for the tip, you guys!"

Jaden and Syrus ran out of the classroom, leaving Bastion and Carmine behind.

"So, speaking of the field test, think you're ready for it?" Carmine asked.

"Don't be silly. With the amount of planning I've done prior, I've got nothing to worry about. And what of yourself?"

Carmine held the classroom door open as the two walked out.

"I guess you can say the same for me. I've spent my time studying and going over duel strategies so we'll just have to see how things turn out."

Bastion nodded.

"A fair attitude to have. I'm sure you'll do fine."

"Same to you."

* * *

Carmine took deep breaths as she waited for her opponent. She looked around, watching as most of the other students had already begun their duels. She could just barely see Bastion dueling a fellow Ra Yellow off on the other end of the gym.

"Sorry I'm late!" a voice called.

Carmine looked to see a boy wearing the Slifer blazer with blond hair running towards her.

"Hey, I'm Gillian, your opponent," the boy introduced. "Sorry about making you wait, I was having problems with my Duel Disk so I had to go get it fixed real quick."

"Hey, it's all good," Carmine said. She held out a hand to him. "You're here now so let's just get started shall we?"

Gillian took Carmine's hand and shook it.

"Let's do it."

Gillian and Carmine took their places on the dueling field and activated their Duel Disks.

(G: 4000)

(C: 4000)

"Hey, since I was late how about you go first?"

"Fine by me. I draw."

Carmine drew and glanced at her hand.

"I set one monster and place three cards face down. Then I play Graceful Charity to draw three new cards in exchange for discarding two."

Carmine drew the three cards and overlooked her new hand.

 _Cool, these are just the cards I need,_ she thought.

"Alright, first I'll toss two cards due to Graceful Charity's effect and then end my turn."

"My turn." Gillian looked at his hand after he drew. "First I'll summon Night Lizard (1) in attack mode. Then I'll equip him with the spell card Power of Kaishin which increases his attack and defense points by three hundred."

A silver and gold trident appeared in front of Night Lizard. As it took the weapon into its hands, it glowed gold for a moment as its attack power went up.

(Night Lizard ATK: 1150—1450)

(Night Lizard DEF: 1300—1600)

"And first I think I'll attack that facedown monster of yours. Let 'em have it, Night Lizard!"

The trident-wielding monster ran towards Carmine's face-down monster and started to drive the silver and gold weapon down upon it. Just as it tried to, however, a wave of water drove it back and washed all the way over Gillian as well.

(G: 4000—3450)

"Hey, what gives?" the blond asked.

"What gives is the fact that my Aqua Madoor (2) has two thousand defense points, leaving your Night Lizard too weak to destroy it," Carmine explained, a smile on her face as her light blue-haired monster appeared in a wave of water, kneeling on the ground as the water formed a bubble around it. "So you're probably gonna have to try again there pal."

Gillian clicked his tongue then placed two cards face down as well.

"Then now it's time for me to start putting my little plan in action," Carmine smiled.

She drew her new card then took a quick glance at her hand. With a smirk, she glanced back up.

"I summon forth Silent Magician LV 4 (3) to the field to start off."

A young pale-skinned girl, dressed in white and blue robes with a white witch-like hat on her head carrying a short staff in her hands appeared next to Aqua Madoor, clutching the staff tightly.

"Then I'll play the spell card Final Flame to take another blow at your life points."

Gillian threw his arms up as balls of flame came shooting towards him.

(G: 3450—2850)

"Next I'll play one of my face down cards, a little spell card called Swords of Revealing Light, you might know it."

"Ah man, you serious?" Gillian groaned as large swords of white light descended upon Night Lizard, pinning it in place.

"Haha, afraid so," Carmine giggled. "And now I'll activate one of my trap cards—Solemn Wishes! This is awesome continuous trap card that increases my life points by five hundred points each time I draw a card. That'll be it, I end my turn."

"Geez, you certainly got quite the set up going," Gillian sighed as he drew a card.

"You got that right, since now my Silent Magician's special ability activates," Carmine declared, pointing at Gillian. "You see, every time you draw a card, she gains one spell counter. For each spell counter she has, she gains five hundred attack points!"

Silent Magician raised her staff to the sky as a glowing green orb with a yellow upside down triangle in the center appeared hovering over her head.

(Silent Magician LV 4 ATK: 1000—1500)

"Humph, lucky for you the Swords of Revealing Light are keeping me from attacking," Gillian muttered. "Otherwise my monster would destroy yours in a heartbeat."

Carmine childishly stuck her tongue out at the blond Slifer Red.

"Yeah, well, anyway, first I'll summon Star Boy (4) which, with its special ability, raises all WATER monsters attack points by five hundred."

(Night Lizard ATK: 1450—1950)

(Star Boy ATK: 550—1050)

"And now, I'll play the spell card Steel Shell and equip it to my Night Lizard which increases its attack by four hundred but decreases its defense by two hundred."

(Night Lizard ATK: 1950—2350)

(Night Lizard DEF: 1600—1400)

"I'll place one card face down and then end my turn," Gillian said. "Your turn now."

Carmine nodded and then drew a card.

"Okay then," she murmured. "Well first, since I just drew a card my trap card's ability activates granting me five hundred life points."

Solemn Wishes glowed a soft green light for a moment before Carmine did as well.

(C: 4000—4500)

Once the glow faded Carmine regarded her hand. She smiled and then looked up to Gillian.

"First I'll play the spell card Level Modulation, this allows you to draw two new cards from your deck and allows me to special summon a one LV monster from my Graveyard," Carmine said.

As Gillian drew his two cards, Silent Magician raised her staff again, causing two more spell counters to appear over her head.

(Silent Magician LV4 ATK: 1500—2500)

"Now that my Silent Magician has gotten her spell counters and increased her attack points, I'll special summon Allure Queen LV3 (5) due to Level Modulation's effect."

A young elegant dressed woman appeared and then pointed her staff towards Star Boy. A golden light gathered at the tip and soon Star Boy's single eye started to glow golden as well. Gillian gave a shout of surprise as Star Boy scuttled its way across the field to stand next to Allure Queen who patted it on the head.

"Oh yeah, my Allure Queen LV3 has a special ability that allows her to 'equip' a level three or lower monster to her," Carmine smiled. "Which means one less monster for you."

"Come on, seriously?" Gillian groaned, scratching his head in annoyance.

"And just to rub some more salt in the wound, I'll summon Sorcerer of the Doomed (6) in attack mode. Now that I've got her around, first I'll switch my Aqua Madoor to attack mode and then attack your Night Lizard with my Silent Magician!"

Silent Magician aimed her staff at the lizard and fired a large white fireball that shattered it on impact.

(G: 2850—2700)

"And now I'll have my Allure Queen LV3 follow up!"

Allure Queen LV3 aimed her staff at Gillian and fired a golden beam of light that shot right through him.

(G: 2700—2200)

"Sorcerer of the Doomed up next," Carmine winked.

Gillian groaned as a red beam of light shot through him, taking another chunk of his life points away.

(G: 2200—750)

"And now my Aqua Madoor is going to attack and wrap up this duel!" Carmine said.

"No fair," Gillian said as Aqua Madoor summoned forth a large wave of water that came crashing down right on him.

(G: 750—0)

(C: Win)

(G: Lose)

"Aw man, I totally lost," Gillian groaned, falling to his knees as the holograms of the duel faded away. "I didn't even stand a chance."

"Hey, don't be so down, it was actually a great duel," Carmine said, walking over, holding her hand out towards the fellow Slifer.

Gillian smiled and accepted it, allowing her to pull him to his feet.

"Thanks but hey, with skills like those you're bound to get into Ra Yellow," Gillian said. "They'd be crazy _not_ to let you in."

"Agreed, that was quite the duel," Bastion said, walking over.

"O-oh, thanks," Carmine blushed, pushing some of her hair behind her ear as she glanced away. "Though to be honest, don't think I'm ready to leave Slifer Red just yet. But, I guess we'll just see what happens. Oh, sorry, I'm being rude, what about your duel Bastion? You totally won right?"

"But of course," Bastion smiled. "I even managed to use one of my most basic constructed deck."

"Hey, nice job," Gillian said. "With grades like yours, you gotta get into Obelisk Blue."

"Well, as you said Carmine, I personally don't think I'm ready to advance just yet either," Bastion said. "But someday, I assure you."

Just then a faculty member alerted the three they needed to leave the dueling field to allow the next batch of students to take their field exam. The three did so and moved to the stands to watch the next students duel with Bastion and Carmine meeting up with Syrus and Jaden.

"Sweet duel you guys," Jaden said. "You two really threw down."

"Thanks, Jaden," Carmine smiled. "I'm sure you and Syrus will pass no problem too."

"Well, that makes one of us," Syrus sighed. "Hopefully the cards in that card pack will help."

Jaden gave Syrus a reassuring pat on the back when he got called to take his place on the gym floor to take his field test.

"Best of luck to you," Bastion said, giving the brunet a nod.

"Yeah, whoever _you're_ up against better watch out," Carmine giggled.

"Got that right," Jaden smiled. "See you guys."

The three watched as Jaden ran down to his designated duel field and gasped in unison when they saw just whom his opponent was. Somehow, perhaps some weird twist of fate or careful planning, the student that stood opposing him was the well-known and _very_ disliked Obelisk Blue student—Chazz Princeton.

* * *

 **And there you have it! The promotional exams begin! Also asmallfyi, Gillian isn't just a random character, he's actually a frequent character in the Tag Force games. Until next time!**

* * *

Cards appearing in this chapter:

(1)

Night Lizard

Attribute: WATER

Type: Aqua

Level: 4

ATK/DEF: 1150/1300

(2)

Aqua Madoor

Attribute: WATER

Type: Spellcaster

Level: 4

ATK/DEF: 1200/2000

(3)

Silent Magician LV4

Attribute: LIGHT

Type: Spellcaster/Effect

Level: 4

ATK/DEF: 1000/1000

Effect: Each time your opponent draws a card(s), place 1 Spell Counter on this card (max. 5). This card gains 500 ATK for each Spell Counter on it. During the Standby Phase of your next turn after the 5th Spell Counter is placed on this card: You can send this face-up card with 5 Spell Counters on it to the Graveyard; Special Summon 1 "Silent Magician LV8" from your hand or Deck.

(5)

Star Boy

Attribute: WATER

Type: Aqua/Effect

Level: 2

ATK/DEF: 550/500

Effect: As long as this card remains face-up on the field, increase the ATK of all WATER monsters by 500 points and decrease the ATK of all FIREmonsters by 400 points.

(6)

Allure Queen LV3

Attribute: DARK

Type: Spellcaster/Effect

Level: 3

ATK/DEF: 500/500

Effect: Once per turn, during your Main Phase, you can select 1 Level 3 or lower monster on your opponent's side of the field and equip it to this card. (Only 1 card at a time can be equipped due to this effect.) If this card would be destroyed by battle, the equipped monster is destroyedinstead. During your Standby Phase, by sending this card to the Graveyard while it's equipped due to its effect, Special Summon 1 "Allure Queen LV5" from your hand or Deck.

(6)

Sorcerer of the Doomed

Attribute: DARK

Type: Spellcaster

Level: 4

ATK/DEF: 1450/1200


End file.
